A much more major election nightmare

[vvvexation]

Bloody fuck! I've just realized there was a much bigger fuckup at the polls. When you vote a paper ballot, you're not supposed to sign the register, as I mentioned earlier. When I voted today, they had me sign. I'd said "I'm not supposed to sign, right?" but they said I was, and figuring that there might have been a change in procedure, or else that it was a slight messup on their part but not likely to do anything more than annoy the vote-counters, I didn't argue. It wasn't until I got home that the implications of it hit me.

When you vote a regular ballot, there's no way to trace it. The only proof they have that you voted is your signature on the roster. That's why you're only supposed to sign the roster if you voted a regular ballot. Provisional ballots go in those little envelopes so that they can make sure you didn't vote somewhere else as well before they take them out and count them; if your signature appears in any roster anywhere, that means you voted and that means your provisional ballot won't be counted.

By making me sign the roster, they've nullified my vote. Not just mine, but those of every other voter who was on the rolls at that precinct but voted a paper ballot anyway.

I called the registrar's office as soon as I realized this. Fortunately, because of their other screwup I'd taken note of the precinct number; the fellow there, agreeing that this was a Bad Thing, told me he'd pass this on to the troubleshooters and that they might get back to me. If they don't, I won't be able to find out if my vote, specifically, got counted until it's far too late to do any good, though I might be able to find out how the situation in general was resolved.

Cross your fingers, folks. I'm gonna be royally pissed if they don't find a way to fix this.

Comments

All I'm gonna say is "ehh" this time.

[marmaladious.livejournal.com]

Ehh.

[darcydodo]

Whaaaa? Are you sure?

Not that it matters for us, anyway, but... are you sure? 'Cause I signed in, too.

[vvvexation.livejournal.com]

It matters if you want your vote to count in the state. And yes, I'm sure. I've worked the polls myself three times, and the fellow at the registrar's office confirmed that this was a Bad Thing. I strongly recommend you call the registrar immediately at 510-272-6933 and tell them this happened at your precinct too. Same goes for anyone else who had this happen; I shudder to think how many people have been disenfranchised at precints where nobody who knew this was wrong happened to stop by.

[darcydodo]

So, I just phoned, and the woman I talked to said that the voting rolls essentially have nothing to do with the actual ballots; it's simply a way to find out how many people have used the machines, before the votes are counted. So while you're not supposed to sign the roster, it's not actually a Problem.

Which in fact makes sense to me, when I think about it — they have no idea that my ballot that I handed in is my ballot, so how would they know to discount that particular ballot?

[vvvexation.livejournal.com]

Wait, did you use the machines? If so, then yeah, there's no problem. But if you voted a provisional ballot, it won't get counted if you signed the roster, because if you signed the roster they assume you used the machine and therefore you tried to vote twice.

[darcydodo]

No, I voted on paper. But the woman I spoke to at the registrar's office claims that there's not a problem. Maybe she's just a nutcase, I don't know.

(I'd forgotten temporarily that my name's on the outside of my paper ballot.)

[vvvexation.livejournal.com]

Well, the things she said seemed to be missing the point; yes, the signatures don't have anything to do with the ballots if you vote normally, but I'm pretty sure what I said still applies if you vote provisionally. If I were you I'd call again and talk with someone else. The guy I talked to basically went "crap, that's not good," after I specifically asked him to correct me if I was wrong, so I doubt both he and I are on crack.

[darcydodo]

So I phoned back, this time with my facts clearer in my head, and the guy I talked to said "hmm, let me double-check with someone." When he got back to me, he told me that while officially it's true that you're not supposed to, apparently the electronic votes are documented electronically as well, so that it will, somehow, be clear that I didn't vote twice. I'll just cross my fingers and believe him. :)

[vvvexation.livejournal.com]

*scratches head* I'm not sure how. The electronic votes will definitely be counted per machine and it will be clear that the number of votes on the machines doesn't match the number of signatures on the rolls for the given precinct, but they won't have any way of knowing who did or did not actually use the machines independently of who did or did not sign the register, since the voter cards don't carry any identifying information.

[vvvexation.livejournal.com]

Rrgh, I left out a word in my reply. It should say "in the state races."

[bdot.livejournal.com]

at my pricinct, if they told me they wanted a paper ballot after they signed the roster, we made a note on the roster that they later requested a paper ballot... cuz that happened a lot!!!!

[vvvexation.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's what we did in March too. But at this precinct it didn't seem they were making any special notes like that.